“Great,” I say through an exhale.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
She gazes up at my face, her brow knit in worry. She reaches up and gently touches the edge of my jaw, then my forehead.
“I’m fine,” I say.
“Blake, you’ve got bruises and cuts all over your face.” Her eyes are teary as she looks up at me. “You’re hurt because of me.”
When her lips start to wobble, I cup her face in my hands.
“Hey. This isn’t your fault.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t cry. I swear, I’m okay. It looks worse than it is.”
She sniffles. “You promise?”
I crack a smile at how sweet she is. “I promise.”
The worried wrinkle in her brow eases.
“What did Logan say to you on the ice?” she asks. “I saw him say something to you. And in the video that got posted online, he said something to you in the tunnel too.”
I grit my teeth just thinking about it.
“Nothing worth repeating,” I say. “He’ll never bother you again, Briar.”
Her mouth parts open in surprise. “But how can you be so sure?”
“Because I told him if he ever did anything to you again, I’d kill him.”
I instantly regret telling her that. She probably thinks I’m a psycho.
But then, she gently grabs my face and kisses me. I groan into her mouth as she leads me in a slow, teasing kiss.
When we stop, we’re both panting.
She leans her forehead against mine. “Blake, I need to tell you something…”
I lean back to look at her.
“I can’t do this anymore,” she says, the look in her eyes pained.
My stomach falls to my feet.
She hesitates for a second before she starts speaking again. “I can’t keep going like this. I can’t just be your friend who you fool around with anymore.”
Shit. She’s going to end things between us.
“I want more,” she says.
My brain is a record screeching to a halt. “What?”
“I want you to be my boyfriend, Blake.”
I stare at her for a long moment, hoping I heard her right.
She gnaws at her bottom lip and plays with the hem of my jersey like she’s nervous.
“I know it must freak you out to hear me say that,” she says. “Especially since I said I wanted to take things slow. I tried. I really did. But you’re just so amazing, Blake, and I fell so hard for you, and?—”
